BMW doubles electric car sales in the first quarter

Thanks to the sustained high demand for its vehicles, the manufacturer was able to further strengthen its competitive position and profitability in the first quarter of 2022. As announced in February, the full consolidation of the Chinese joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd (BBA) had a positive impact on the quarterly results.

Even without this influence, the key return figures reflect the financial strength of the BMW Group in a volatile environment, according to the manufacturer: Group pre-tax return on sales (EBT margin) was 39.3 per cent in the first quarter (2021: 14.0 per cent). Excluding the revaluation of the shares already held and consolidation effects from the full consolidation of BBA, the BMW Group achieved a Group return on sales of 18.4 per cent.

The Automobiles segment also showed strong returns in the first three months: The EBIT margin in the Automobiles segment was 8.9 per cent in the reporting period (2021: 9.8 per cent) and thus at the upper end of the target corridor for 2022. Excluding the consolidation effects from the full consolidation of BBA, the EBIT margin amounts to 13.2 per cent.

"The strength and resilience of the BMW Group are particularly evident in a challenging environment: with a high degree of flexibility, operational excellence and the great commitment of our team, we are steering the company on the path to success - today and in the future," said Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, when presenting the figures in Munich.

Deliveries of electrified vehicles significantly up
In the first quarter of 2022, sales of electrified vehicles increased significantly: by 28 per cent to 89,669 units (2021: 70,207 vehicles/+27.7 per cent). As planned, sales of purely electrically driven cars more than doubled to 35,289 units (2021: 14,161 cars/+149.2 per cent).

The BMW iX3 (2022: 11,200 automobiles; 2021: 2330 automobiles) and the MINI Cooper SE (2022: 8,925 automobiles; 2021: 5852 automobiles) were the most sought-after all-electric models and significantly increased their sales compared to the same quarter in the previous year. The innovative BMW iX and BMW i4 are already generating strong demand and a high order backlog shortly after their market launch. The all-electric luxury sedan BMW i7 and the compact SUV BMW iX1 as well as the all-electric BMW i3 in China will expand the model range of battery electric vehicles in 2022.

"We are convinced: especially in difficult times, we must not stop doing the right thing. That is why we are speeding up the ramp-up of e-mobility and thus accelerating the transformation to sustainable mobility. And with our holistic approach to reducing the CO2 emissions of our vehicles along the entire value chain, we are making an effective contribution to the fight against climate change," says CEO Zipse.

The company aims to have more than two million fully electric vehicles on the road as early as 2025. Already this year - including pre-production vehicles - 15 fully electric models are to be produced, covering around 90 per cent of its current segments. At least ten per cent of the total sales volume is to be accounted for by fully electric models.

BMW M, MINI and Rolls-Royce on the rise
In the first quarter of 2022, the BMW brand delivered a total of 519,796 vehicles to customers, 7.3 per cent fewer than in the strong prior-year quarter (2021: 560,543 vehicles). To kick off its anniversary year celebrating BMW M's 50th birthday, 39,055 high-performance models from BMW's M performance division went to customers, an increase of 3.1 per cent (2021: 37,894 vehicles).

At the brand level, the MINI brand saw a slight increase in the first quarter (75,487 vehicles, 2021: 74,683 vehicles, +1.1 per cent), mainly due to the electrified MINI Cooper SE and MINI Countryman Plug-in Hybrid models. Both models together achieved a share of more than 17 per cent of total MINI brand sales.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars delivered 1624 cars to customers in the first quarter, up 17.7 per cent year-on-year (2021: 1380 cars). The increase in sales is due in particular to the Rolls-Royce Ghost and Cullinan models.